Freak Show in Saco
The Freak Show Circus had just arrived in Saco Maine after they got kicked out in their last location which was Jupiter, Florida. If you have no clue what a “freak show” is, then I will explain to you; it’s a circus of humans that are outcasts of society. They are all misfits with deformed bodies that essentially just “look” different. I’ll give you a rundown of the freaks in this circus. First there’s the HandClaw boy. His first name is really Jack but he’s better known by his nickname because of his deformed hands that look like claws of a crab. Then, there’s his mother Deb, she’s a bearded woman. There’s Dusty who has Down syndrome, Misty who has no legs and walks with her arms, Callie who is the smallest human in the world averaging at about 4cm tall, Joey and Jackie the conjoined twins, and several more. The owner and person in charge of this Freak Show is Ella Macs. She is a washed up Hollywood actress who is trying to make a name for herself again- but all she has is this circus of people.
Anyways, on one sunny morning in May the Freak Show arrived in Saco. They set up their tents, parked their trailers and settled in. They were in a secluded area of Saco, farms all around and lonely cute houses that looked like they are from the 1800’s. Ella Macs gathered the crew together and told them that this was their new home, and their first show would be tomorrow night so they had to have a rehearsal.
Meanwhile, everybody in the town of Saco knew that a circus was going on this upcoming weekend and everyone was prepared to go. Teachers of all grades were telling their students to go, families were going and friend groups too.
Maggie, a student at Thornton Academy knew that a circus was coming and that everyone and their mother was going. Her dad was in the town committee and he set it up for the circus to come to Saco. Her dad had been planning it and spreading it around for everyone to hear so people would go. But, when she had asked her dad what the circus would have in store for entertainment, he told her he didn’t know. She thought that was strange because he had been planning this for so long.
“Don’t worry hunny, they told me that it was going to be the best live performance that people will ever see in their life. “ said Maggie’s dad when she questioned him further.
Maggie has been skeptical for this circus but she didn’t have much to say since she didn’t know what it had to offer.
The day passed and eventually it was Saturday, the big day. The Freaks were stressing out, running around to make sure everything was perfect for the grand opening.
“Are you the opening act?” Deb asked her son, HandClaw Boy.
“Yes, I’m nervous. People aren’t expecting it, they will be appalled. I guess I hope they like it,” replied HandClaw Boy.
It was 8pm , everyone was walking inside the circus tent, buying popcorn and taking pictures for their Instagram. The air smelled like fried food and the noise in the field of grass was filled with laughter and excitement. The line to get in was massive, almost the whole town of Saco was going. Everyone was anxious to see this circus, they had heard rumors that there were elephants walking on tight rope and bears dancing. There were many people that were not okay with this, or circus’s in general though, I mean it’s 2019 and animals shouldn’t be abused or eaten!
Eventually everyone is sitting down in their seats ready for the Freak Show to start. The lights dim down and everyone in the crowd gets quiet. A single light comes on shining the dirt floor and a average looking boy with blonde curly comes to the light. He’s wearing a tuxedo with big mittens over his hands. Suddenly, he takes his mittens off and the crowd gasps. They see his hands, they look like claws of some sort of sea animal. Suddenly though, the crowd starts to lightly laugh because they assume it’s fake.
Maggie, in the front row saw this boy and his claw hands up real close. She could tell, that these are in fact not fake.
Then, the lights shine through and a woman with no legs comes out, it’s Misty. Shes walking with her arms and HandClaw Boy lifts her up on his shoulders. The crowd is silent, it’s all a stunt, they think. Finally, Dusty with Down syndrome comes out behind the curtain and is wearing a beat up white T-shirt down to his knees. Circus music starts playing in the background and the three freaks start to play music chairs. Someone in the crowd screams. People are yelling , leaving and some were even heard to start puking by the dehumanization of this situation.
Maggie sat there watching with her jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe this. It was a literal Freak Show. These are normal human beings and they are being labeled as freaks, and even worse, her dad put this together. She felt tears rolling down her face as she saw the conjoined twins and a tiny woman come to the stage. They were wearing awful colorful costumes that made them look stupid. By this time, Maggie and only a few others were left in the circus tent, still watching.
Ella Macs walked to the stage in a fancy old vintage dress with stage makeup on and looked into the crowd. Her face suddenly morphed into astonishment.
“WHERE DID EVERYONE GO?” She screamed.
Maggie decided to speak up, “excuse me miss, but what type of show is this? these are people , so what is the circus for?”
Ella gave a viscous look to Maggie.
“Look little girl, this is a business that has nothing to do with you. These people are freaks and the public deserves to see them. Look at Misty! It’s not everyday you see a woman walking around like s chimpanzee!”
Maggie ran out of the circus tent and got in her Honda Civic and drove home. Was this all a dream? What just happened? She thought.
She got home and while in her parking lot she logged into Twitter to see if anyone had posted anything. She scrolled down and she saw a tweet with 15k retweet’s that was a picture of the three freaks playing musical chairs. The tweet read how disgusting it was that these people were used as props and entertainment in the circus. Maggie scrolled down to the comments and she saw some people saying how weird HandClaw Boy looked, or how Misty looked like an animal. She was horrified because people were being so mean. Is this what our society has come to? She thought.